I honestly find DACs pretty subtle as well. It's amusing to see members give cables glorious descriptions blown way out of proportion. Very counter-intuitive really; it doesn't give you any head-fi karma, nor does it help anyone else.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamdacow

I agree, while the difference is very noticeable however, a cable is only a refinement to the sound. It does not make as big a difference as an amp, dac or source.

I honestly find DACs pretty subtle as well. It's amusing to see members give cables glorious descriptions blown way out of proportion. Very counter-intuitive really; it doesn't give you any head-fi karma, nor does it help anyone else.

You are allowed your own personal opinion, but don't go preaching it as gospel truth

I honestly find DACs pretty subtle as well. It's amusing to see members give cables glorious descriptions blown way out of proportion. Very counter-intuitive really; it doesn't give you any head-fi karma, nor does it help anyone else.

I have heard the W4R, and I'm going to just put it out there curtly and say you're just too used to too much treble, and not an overall balanced sound. It's either that, or your fit is bad. Most honest unbiased people with a reasonable amount of experience with many other high-end headphones, IEM or full sized, will tell you that W4/R does NOT sound as if it's the best sounding thing out there, like what the reviews here on head-fi suggest. I see reviews filled with glorious accolade, "liquid mids," "outstanding detail," etc. etc. which quite successfully enrages me; it's almost as bad as cable reviews making it seem like they make a complete night and day difference, as if the sonic signature was completely altered to cater their needs. Exaggeration at its finest. I'm willing to bet all this is because of some sort of need to self-justify purchases, or just to reap Head-Fi karma. This is why you see complete polar opposite reviews and impressions of the W4/R.

No offense intended. My rant is directed towards the general Head-Fi public.

Here are two examples. Two Headphoneus Supremuses who have no reasons or intensions to falsely claim anything. Read through the thread. You'll find a pattern: most people trying to convince them that W4 is not as bad as they hear it is say to 1. give it more time, 2. burn it in, 3. get used to the sound. One Headphoneus Supremus tells the guy to give it more time to grow on him; if you look at his gear list, and his system, you'll probably understand why he's telling him this BS. Anyone can get used to any sound, and at some point that will become their reference point... However, we're talking about actual inherently superior sound.

One thing I might add is that I did find the ES5 a bit muffled up top. I fixed that with an inherently transparent, non-coloring, cable. I do not prefer to change the tuned signature I paid $1000 for with external factors like amps and EQ. In your case, Westone's stock cable is a piece of garbage, in my opinion. Burn in is really not needed for the ES5, I didn't notice a change at all.

I usually will relate an IEM's sound to what a popular full size headphone sounds like in timbre and tone. I tend to classify the W4 as an LCD-2 r1 like IEM because of the laid back highs, the W3 as a Denon D5000 or D7000 like IEM because of the generous bass, and the UM3X as an HE-500 like IEM due to the rich mids and overall good balance. My ES3X are more like an HD800, and my ES5 are more like an HE-6, etc... Of course the comparison is not exact, but it gives a person an idea of what the sound might be like.

The stranger part, is while these Westone IEM all sound very different I like them all for different reasons. By far the ES3X and ES5 are my favorite Westone IEM though.

EDIT - okay, I now read the original poster's comments,

Quote by Katun:

Popped 'em in my ears and hit play. What? This is it? Never heard more than two drivers per ear, but this is just disappointing. Somewhere in the treble is too hot, not sure where. But it's just a small little breach in the treble that is bugging me and causing fatigue. The sound as a whole just sounds sorta thin and is actually quite boring. Vocals don't even sound very natural. There really is just nothing that stood out as impressive to me, except possibly the separation provided by the four drivers. But then again, nothing to write home about.

I'm sorry, but I don't agree with those impressions at all. No where is the treble too hot - it's laid back and smooth to me, without grain. Secondly they actually make the UM3X sound thin, so no way are the W4 themselves thin sounding. Boring, maybe - they are not as lively as the W3 or UM3X. Vocals, not natural? No, they are sublime, rich and present. Best IEM? No. But in the top 3 or 4 of universal IEM that I've heard. |Joker| is probably a better judge of their rank, due to 250+ IEM reviewed, and I bet he's got them in the top 5-10...

Well, as long as you're clearly defining the context, that you're relating what the sound sounds like in comparison, not how good it sounds in relation, that's perfectly fine in my opinion. However, there are those who preach like it's the end of days, and then exaggerate and blow the description of the sound way out of proportion to the point that it is almost completely false. They then in turn tell those who do not agree with them to "get used to the sound," "give it more time" or "burn it in" and when the person who posts cons in a very blunt manner, even after they "give it more time," the rest comes out with torches and pitchforks and goes on a witch hunt, effectively repelling honest opinions and descriptions which eventually leads to the inevitable hypetrain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict

I usually will relate an IEM's sound to what a popular full size headphone sounds like in timbre and tone. I tend to classify the W4 as an LCD-2 r1 like IEM because of the laid back highs, the W3 as a Denon D5000 or D7000 like IEM because of the generous bass, and the UM3X as an HE-500 like IEM due to the rich mids and overall good balance. My ES3X are more like an HD800, and my ES5 are more like an HE-6, etc... Of course the comparison is not exact, but it gives a person an idea of what the sound might be like.

The stranger part, is while these Westone IEM all sound very different I like them all for different reasons. By far the ES3X and ES5 are my favorite Westone IEM though.

EDIT - okay, I now read the original poster's comments,

I'm sorry, but I don't agree with those impressions at all. No where is the treble too hot - it's laid back and smooth to me, without grain. Secondly they actually make the UM3X sound thin, so no way are the W4 themselves thin sounding. Boring, maybe - they are not as lively as the W3 or UM3X. Vocals, not natural? No, they are sublime, rich and present. Best IEM? No. But in the top 3 or 4 of universal IEM that I've heard. |Joker| is probably a better judge of their rank, due to 250+ IEM reviewed, and I bet he's got them in the top 5-10...

I put rubbing alcohol onto some cotton swabs and use that to clean the tips. A head-fi member previously said that it might shrink the tips, but I sent an email to Westone about it and I got a reply saying that it's fine as long as you are careful not to get any of the rubbing alcohol into the bores.

I put rubbing alcohol onto some cotton swabs and use that to clean the tips. A head-fi member previously said that it might shrink the tips, but I sent an email to Westone about it and I got a reply saying that it's fine as long as you are careful not to get any of the rubbing alcohol into the bores.

This directly contradicts things that they have said in the past. Maybe it is okay but I wouldn't do it.

Hmm...if that's the case then I guess I'll be more cautious, but so far I haven't noticed any shrinkage that I can possibly conceive. It could be a problem in the long term though if that's true.

I wonder if they're going to be putting Oto-ease back on the market soon. I tried Nurturell that Westone has sent me, but it's way too oily and even smells like engine oil. Plus, I don't think Nurturell has a sanitizing effect anyways.